The road to Rio 2016 starts here in London

Brazil in Britain: Next stop for the Olympics is Rio de Janeiro. Feed your samba spirit right here in London.

Quilumbo do Samba Brazilian samba band parade through the streets of Notting Hill (Picture: Alamy)

When iconic Brazilian musicians Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil were exiled to London in 1969 – forced out of the country by Brazil’s military dictatorship – they didn’t find many compatriots.

‘We barely met any Brazilians here,’ says Veloso. ‘The nearest we got were hippies and Jamaicans, which is who we hung out with most of the time. And when we wanted food that reminded us of home, we had to find West African places.’

The pair were allowed back to their homeland two years later. They return to London every other year, playing to large crowds, but it’s now a city they barely recognise. Britain is home to around 200,000 Brazilians, most of them based in London.

Across the capital – from Harrow Road in the north to Stockwell in the south – you’ll find grocery stores draped with Brazilian flags stocking Brazilian rice, beans and pão de queijo dough.

There are London-based Brazilian websites and publications such as Leros, Jungle Drums and Brazilian News; at least a dozen capoeira classes; a couple of Brazilian clubs (Floripa, 91-93 Great Eastern Street, near Old Street, and Covent Garden’s Guanabara in Parker Street) and many more regular nights (at venues such Soho’s Floridita, 100 Wardour Street, and Notting Hill Arts Club, 21 Notting Hill Gate).

And, where London could barely muster a single Brazilian restaurant just five years ago, there are now at least 20 – some glorified shacks with all-you-can-eat buffets (Fogo Vivo, by Harringay Green Lanes station), some almost deliberately obscure cafés for the benefit of local Brazilians (Barraco, Kingsgate Place, Kilburn) others high-end fusion joints (Sushinho).

London-born DJ Cliffy has been ideally placed to witness the increase in traffic between British and Brazilian culture over the past 20 years.

He first visited Brazil in 1994, teaching English in Rio for two years and immersing himself in its music. Before long, he was travelling between London and Rio eight times a year, digging out rare Brazilian vinyl and recommending the best tracks to international DJs. He’s now married to a Brazilian woman and has a unique take on Anglo-Brazilian relations.

‘Anecdotally, it’s apparent that the number of Brazilians in London has probably peaked – it’s more difficult to get visas, so fewer Brazilians are coming here,’ he says. ‘And some Brazilian Londoners have gone home, attracted by a more buoyant Brazilian economy. But there are still well over 100,000 and they’ve made a permanent mark here.’

As London prepares to hand over the Olympic torch to Rio for 2016, those links are being strengthened. We’ve seen Gilberto Gil bring his Back2Black festival to the banks of the Thames, and we’ve seen 30 Brazilian artists spend the past month collaborating with young British artists on the Rio Occupation project (the Brits will take part in the return leg in Rio next year).

Just as we took Leona Lewis , Jimmy Page and David Beckham to Beijing four years ago, the Brazilians are wheeling out three big guns – soulful bossa nova maverick Seu Jorge, samba diva Marisa Monte and rapper BNegão – for the Olympic Closing Ceremony on August 12.‘There’s been a two-way relationship between the two cities,’ says Cliffy. ‘London’s club culture and pop music have been very influential on Rio. Now you notice how the edgier side of Brazilian music – rap and carioca funk – has had an impact on British clubbing. And, interestingly, you’ll find a growing community of Brits in Rio – not just diplomats but businessmen, artists and people working on the next World Cup and the next Olympics.’

This year’s Notting Hill Carnival (Aug 26 and 27) – the second biggest street carnival in the world behind Rio’s – will take on a particularly Brazilian air this year, with performances from many of London’s samba bands, including the London School Of Samba, the Paraiso School Of Samba, Grupo Batala and Bloco Maluco, and a big post- Carnival party from Cliffy.

Just as Brazil’s clattering samba orchestras make a glorious racket on reclaimed steel cans, beer bottles and discarded plastic bins, that same inventive spirit of recycling and reinvention can be seen in some of Rio’s most cutting-edge visual art, much of which is constructed from recycled junk. The most famous practitioners are the Campana brothers, who make modernist furniture from recycled cardboard and plastics, and Vik Muniz, who worked with scavengers on the world’s biggest rubbish dump, a project explored by the award- winning 2010 documentary Waste Land.

Work inspired by both is on display in the mammoth exhibition Casa Brasil, which has taken over Somerset House this summer (until Sep 8, somersethouse.org.uk/casa-brasil ). It’s Brazil’s official Olympics home, displaying contemporary Brazilian painting, sculptures and installations, as well as new cinema.

You’ll also find Brazilian design at the V&A, with an exhibition of work by Arthur Bispo do Rosário (1909-1989), who was confined to a psychiatric ward from the age of 29 and who created his sculptures and garments from arcane materials (Aug 13 to Oct 28, vam.ac.uk ).

Prof Paul Heritage, a British curator who has worked with Brazilian artists for many years, says: ‘Rio, like London, is one of the hubs of contemporary art. Not only are there huge numbers of young people making fascinating work, but they are also very popular.

‘Three of the world’s top ten most attended art exhibitions last year were in Rio. And you can see a lot of artists in Britain looking to Brazil, wanting a slice of that dynamic, transformative energy, that resourcefulness and vitality.’

Made In Brasil hosts DJs and live acts playing bossa nova, samba and MPB (Brazilian pop)JOIN IN: WHERE TO GO

Canning House

Home to the Hispanic and Luso Brazilian Council, Canning House has a lively calendar of concerts, talks and exhibitions. Coming soon is Great Books, a course celebrating literature in Portuguese, Spanish and in translation.

Belgrave Square. Tel: 020 7235 2303.canninghouse.org

Caipirinha

This Highgate spot features live acts, DJs, open-mic nights and zumba. The cocktail list boasts many Brazilian favourites – including the caipirinha, obviously.

Archway Road. Tel: 020 8340 2321.caipirinha-london.com

Canecão pub

From the outside, this Camden local looks like any ordinary pub but from the food to the live music to the televised football matches, it’s all Brazilian – the atmosphere is as far from an old boozer as you can get.

York Way. Tel: 020 7485 4738.canecaogroup.com

Sushinho

Brazil is home to 1.6million Japanese immigrants, whose concept of sushi mixed with Brazilian dishes took off in Rio and São Paulo. Sushinho brings the delicious Brazilian-Japanese marriage to London.

King’s Road. Tel: 020 7349 7496.sushinho.com

Brazilian Embassy

It’s a busy time with the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics coming up. The embassy’s Brazil At Heart exhibition celebrates technology and culture.

Joao Brasil featuring Lovefoxxx’s L.O.V.E Banana was used by Madonna on Give Me All Your Luvin’

Edmundo Ros: London Is The Place For Me(from The Samba Album, 1955)Black British bandleader Ros had several Brazilian hits, including The Wedding Samba (1949), which sold 3 million copies. Here he transforms Lord Kitchener’s calypso into a Brazilian carnival song.Quincy Jones : On The Street Where You Live(from Big Band Bossa Nova, 1962)The romantic ballad from the ultimate cockney musical gets a frenetic samba makeover.

Os Mutantes: Batmacumba(from Tropicalia, 1968)A masterpiece of Brazilian psych-rock gibberish which gave its name to DJ Cliffy’s popular London club night. Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66 : Fool On The Hill(from Fool On The Hill, 1968)Paul McCartney’s ballad is transformed into a baroque bossa nova by the Brazilian easy listening maestro. His version of Scarborough Fair is also pretty trippy. Caetano Veloso : London, London(from Caetano Veloso 1971)A sad, jazzy acoustic ballad, in which Caetano recalls his exile in London, all ‘grey skies’, ‘peaceful policemen’ and people looking for flying saucers. Gilberto Gil : Can’t Find My Way Home(from Gilberto Gil 1971)A solo, acoustic-guitar-and-vocal version of Steve Winwood’s trippy folk classic, inspired by Gil’s two-year exile in London . Jorge Ben: Taj Mahal(from Africa Brasil 1976)A Brazilian samba rock classic, famously lifted by London’s own Rod Stewart for his global chart-topper Do You Think I’m Sexy. A court case resulted in Rod The Mod donating a large sum to UNICEF. Everything But The Girl: Corcovado(from Red Hot & Rio, 1996)Tracey Thorn’s blissful drum & bass version of the Jobim classic, one of many great US/UK/Brazilian collaborations on this fundraising LP. Joyce: London Samba(from Hard Bossa, 1999)The Brazilian jazz singer performs a wordless bossa nova duet with a trumpet, inspired by her gigs at Camden’s Jazz Cafe. Patricia Marx & 4Hero: Menino(from Patricia Marx, 2003)Brazilian singer collaborates with London breakbeat duo on this dancefloor anthem, popularised by DJ Gilles Peterson. MIA: Bucky Done Gun(2004 single)The British Tamilian rapper brought Rio’s carioca funk to a wider audience when she collaborated with favela DJ Marlboro on this shanty rap classic. Renata Lu: Faz Tanto Tempo(from Black Rio Vol 2, 2009)A Brazilian funk anthem, popularised by London DJ Cliffy. Bottletop Band with Eliza Doolittle: One In A Million(from Dream Service, 2011)One of many highlights from an album of intriguing collaborations between British indie artists and a funky Brazilian band. Joao Brasil featuring Lovefoxxx : L.O.V.E Banana(2011 single)Club anthem by Brazil’s answer to Fatboy Slim, now based in London, famously lifted by Madonna on Give Me All Your Luvin’.